A blog for the United States branch of the global Centre for Fortean Zoology

At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

In 2006 an incident took place in Mobile (Alabama) in the suburb of Crichton. A group of people claimed they could see a leprechaun in a tree. Not everyone, however, was convinced it was a leprechaun. A shadow caused by tree branches, some moss, even a crackhead were suggested as to what it was. The presence of a character called Demarco Morrisette, playing what he assured onlookers was a millenia-old leprechaun flute, added to the spectacle. This instrument looks rather big for a leprechaun to play, but Morrisette assured viewers he had inherited it from an Irish ancestor. The leprechaun was reputed to only come out at night and to disappear if you shone a light on it. There is no doubt that it caused a buzz in the locality.

A video was taken of the incident and was placed on You Tube. You can see it yourself.Above you can see an interesting book on Irish mystery animals, which you can procure from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or the CFZ.

In the United States, leprechauns are often depicted wearing green, but in Irish tradition they more frequently wear red. There is some tradition of leprechauns living in Ohio, but I don't have details.

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

2013: Paranormal blogger Robert Lindsay continues his
lengthy assessment of Rick Dyer, alleged Bigfoot killer (now confessed serial
hoaxer and convicted fraudster), in two parts. For those who missed it or
desire a stroll down short-term Memory Lane, read on...

In 1969, if you happened to be in Niles (Michigan) you might have bumped into the Catman. This creature allegedly attacked a car, breaking windows with its clawed fists. The funny thing is that this is not an isolated case. Catmen have been reported from California and Ohio and I'm sure I could dig out more with a little searching. What are we to make of such creatures?

In listening to legends of the Thunderbird, cryptozoologists have wondered if some enormous member of the avifauna might not lie behind such a tradition. Sometimes, indeed, enormous birds have been reported.In 1889, the Evening Post carried a somewhat shocking report. A ship called the Talisman was sailing off the coast of Chile. An enormous bird seized a boy on board and carrying him up to a height of 30'-40'. A sailor had jumped, trying to rescue the boy, only to find himself attacked by another bird. Captain Putt produced his trusty gun and shot the first bird, which dropped the boy. A boat was lowered which the second bird proceeded to attack, but was at last driven off. All in the water were rescued.The first bird was still alive, but was captured with a lasso. However, it died three days later. It was left in Valparaiso for taxidermy.What was the nature of these gigantic fowls? Did they represent some lingering species which, in days of yore, had swooped on hapless Native Americans with luncheon in mind? Who can say?

Here is a creature that might qualify as a cryptid, but one for which I think I can work out a plausible explanation without actually venturing into the realm of unknown animals.In 19th Century England, ironworkers had a strange belief. Unless they let the fires at their factories go out from time to time, they believed a dangerous creature would be generated in the flames.They do not seem to have harbored any idea of what this creature looked like, but they adhered to the practice. How had such a notion grown up? Had they once forgotten to douse the fire, with the result that something monstrous and horrific had emerged? Perhaps. But I think I can offer a simpler explanation.I think this idea owes its existence to the malady known as Obsessional Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Sufferers of this unpleasant syndrome feel that unless they adhere to certain ritualistic behavior, something bad will befall them. They develop habits like having to turn off light switches with their elbows, needing to touch a certain part of the wall before they enter their front door or, at a simpler level, fearing to step on cracks in the sidewalk. We are creatures of habit. If we grow into the habit of doing something and then neglect to do it, we may at firts feel unease and then, if we suffer from OCD, real fear. Fear can then spread to others who do not have OCD.I can imagine this particular idea of the flame beast began with workers dousing the flames from time to time until this became a habit. From being a habit, it grew up being a compulsion, perhaps among the more nervous workers at first. Then people began to ask themselves why they were always so meticulous about putting out fires. Someone suggested that it must be because, if they didn't, something unkenned would emerge from the fire and wreak ghastly vengeance. The belief, which would have had its origin in one foundry, would have, with the passage of time, spread to others.Of course, I may be wrong. Perhaps, if they hadn't put out the fires, something unimaginable might have sprung from their flames to devour everything in its path. But I don't think so.

This lake (area 46 square miles) lies in New York state. In days of yore, the Indians held that this lake contained a great monster. Not only did it live in the lake, but it could also cross the land. The coming of the paleface, however, has led to this lake's becoming appallingly polluted. Any monster surviving in there would need to have the most astounding powers of endurance. Yet in 1977, cub scouts reported a monster in this lake. They said it looked like a dragon.

Onondaga Lake

According to tradition, the Iroquois Confederation was formed at this lake. The modern-day Onondaga have a 'Vision for a Clean Onondaga Lake in the 21st Century'. This sounds highly commendable. I'm sure any resident monster would appreciate it too.

The British general election is almost here. At Pennywell Farm in the south of England they are holding pig races, in which pigs represent the various political leaders. They are anxious to see who wins each race, which consists of a course of 150 yards with four jumps. Pigs are named after political party leaders - David Hameron (David Cameron), Ed Swilliband (Ed Milliband), Nigel Forage (Nigel Farrage) and Pork Clegg (Nick Clegg). Chivalrously, no pig is named after Nichola Sturgeon, the Scottish Nationalist leader. A fifth pig stands in for other parties.

Back in 2013 this monster was videoed and reported at Lough Foyle in Ireland. I should warn the reader that Lough Foyle is not a lake, it is an arm of the sea, separating the counties of Donegal and Derry.

Friday, 24 April 2015

1977: A hunter in Jefferson County, Missouri, hears heavy
breathing near his blind, accompanied by a pungent, alien smell of rotten meat or of something that
really stank. Second later, a slender, hairy biped breaks cover 20 yards from
the witness, fleeing "as fast as a deer."

In brief, it was a creature of Chinese legend. They looked like unicorns - they had single horns and equine characteristics. Their bodies were white and their tales black. However, they were fierce creatures. Their teeth resembled a saw. They had claws like a tiger's and they ate tigers and leopards. It was said that you could use them as soldiers, though how exactly you could do this somewhat mystifies me. Pohs were to be found, so the Chinese said, in Mongolia.

The Kelpie of Scottish folklore looks like a horse, but if you get on its back, it will plunge into the water with you. This link takes you to an extract from Karl Shuker's forthcoming book on Loch Ness.

Tuesday, 21 April 2015

2011: A motorist driving through rural Suwannee County,
Florida, claims a sighting of Bigfoot. As later reported to the Gulf Coast
Bigfoot Researchers Organization, "I
noticed a pair of yellow eyes in the fork of two trees and the eyes were at least
7'6" off the ground...I honked my horn twice to see if they were eyes or
not and when I did the creature moved slowly from behind the tree and I could
then see a glimpse of him from my truck light. He never ran, he just slowly
walked away into the woods." Returning the next morning, the witness found
a disemboweled deer at the same location.

Zachary Mann is a valued contributor to this blogspot. He has now decided to do a series of articles, a state-by-state guide to cryptids. This should make a fascinating reference tool for all cryptozoologists. In this article he outlines his plan.

I love the Commonwealth of Virginia. It’s my home state, and the only place that I can ever have the privilege of calling my home. In my life time I have traveled far and wide across many states meeting wonderful people, beautiful places, and sharing new ideas with my fellow man. Yet, despite all of that, there is no place I’d rather live. And as it turns out, many of my fellow Virginians would agree with me. It’s rich in history and many of the USA’s most important events have happened here; the settling of Jamestown, the End of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and we have had more US Presidents born here, than any other state by far.

However, not every place is perfect all of the time. One of the biggest ‘drawbacks’ if one could call it that, was growing up fascinated by Cryptozoology and yet feeling like I was so far away from everything. I mean, Scotland has Nessie, Nepal has the Yeti, and the Congo has Mokele Mbembe. Even here in America you have Champ in New York, Blue Dogs in Texas, and Sasquatch in the Pacific Northwest. As a child, I felt like I was missing out a lot. I suppose it would be like a child wanting to be an actor and growing up in the middle of rural Missouri and longing for the lights of New York or LA. Yet, now I realize that there are plenty of amazing things that are being reported everywhere, including my beloved Virginia.

Zachary Mann (with sister)

You have to understand, growing up in a time before the widespread usage of the internet as well as the dozens of new shows on various cable networks featuring Cryptid and paranormal activities, you had relatively little to work with. Oh, yes, there were books, magazine articles, and occasional spots on TV, but they were always about the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot in California. Local articles did exist, though. As a young boy I remember my mother giving me an article she clipped out of the Richmond Times Dispatch, about sightings of a possible river monster in Virginia, I would later come to know this Cryptid by the name Chessie, as she was already being discussed by researchers far my senior. I saved that article and keep it for years, but having moved three times since then I have lost that small news clipping to time, but it shows how for decades people have been reporting strange things all over the place and the tradition still stands strong today.

I am happy to say that within the last decade a whole slew of works has come out relating to localized Cryptozoology. All across America, as well as the rest of the world, people are able to report, publish, and discuss the bizarre things that happen to them and their neighbors. This is one of the reasons why I first decided to contribute to this great Blog and organization. My first article, all the way back in December of 2013, was about alleged sightings of Bigfoot in my hometown. That’s right, hometown, not state. Places I’d passed by tens of thousands of times and where people I have known my whole have lived for decades before I was born had been seeing some occasionally strange things. Even I have had one rather puzzling sighting of a pair of extra-large, and so far unidentifiable, birds.

So that’s why I’m proud to announce a new venture I’ll be undertaking. I plan to ‘travel’ from state to state exploring local Cryptids and highlighting them in a series of articles. I’m going to dig through the archives of local newspapers as well as contemporary articles too. I know that whole books can, and have been, written about local Cryptids, but my goal is to give you a well-balanced taste of the unique flavors each state has to offer.

The point of this exploration is to show everyone out there that there are always weird and wonderful things going on all around you, to encourage people to come forward with their amazing experiences, and to show that the woods beside your house may not be as empty as you once thought. So I hope you’ll be ready to join me on this cross country road trip of America. We’ll take only the backroads, we’ll always make time to stop and explore every scenic spot, and try and uncover the truly mysterious side of the states of America. So I hope you’ll all join me on this this cross country voyage, we leave at dawn. First stop, my home state, Virginia.

My spies tell me that a secret bigfoot meeting is to be held next month, but as it's secret, its location seems to be unknown. May I suggest that there is a fatal drawback in an arrangement such as this? If people don't know where it is, how are they going to attend? I can only surmise it is a bigfoot meeting for some Inner Circle. They know who they are. They know where it is. They are the cognescenti.Will whatever conclusions the meeting reaches be secret too? Who knows - that seems to be undivulged at present. Further information and updates sent to this website will be gratefully received.Ah, another soupçon of information has come my way. I am told the venue is in Pike County, Mississippi.